Whatever else the Ariirahi could or could not do, some of them had one right peculiar to their rank, and this was the right to wear the girdle of feathers, as much the symbol of their preeminence as the crown and sceptre of European royalty. In Tahiti the heads of two families had the right to wear the Maro-ura, or girdle of red feathers. These were the families of Vaiari and Punaauia. The Vaiari head-chief was officially called Teriinui o Tahiti; the Punaauia, a woman, Tetuanui e Marua i te Rai. The Papara head-chief had alone the right to wear the girdle of yellow feathers, the Maro-tea. These head-chiefs were sacred; wherever they appeared, inferior Arii or chiefs stripped themselves to the waist as a sign of respect, and, as the very ground the Ariirahi stood on became theirs, they were always carried on a man's shoulders when they went abroad, that they might not acquire the property of their neighbors. Yet, sacred as they were, probably none -- whether Teriinui, Tetuanui or Teriirere -- preserved the sacred character throughout the entire island. They were sacred only where they were among their own people or connections by marriage. Cook saw Teriirere of Papara with his father and mother (Amo and Purea) at Matavai, which is in Haapape, not a Teva district; and he saw the district chiefs strip themselves at Teriirere's approach; but this was because of a connection between the families. I doubt whether Teriirere would ever have been taken beyond Haapape or to Hitiaa, for in most of the eastern districts he was a stranger, and had neither a seat in their Maraes nor a claim on the hospitality of their chiefs.

Indigenous Histories